A herbal cream developed by Filipino inventor Rolando de la Cruz to cure basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a common skin cancer, will be on the shelves of pharmacies in Australia and Canada this year.

The cream, DeBCC, was developed from extracts of cashew nuts using a biotechnological process. De la Cruz also used other herbs to fortify the basic ingredient.

Marketed through RCC Amazing Touch International, the cream was earlier sent to Europe and the United States, where it made waves and led to inquiries from various countries.

Companies in Canada and Australia have already sought exclusive distributorships for the cream, which is now considered a major non-surgical cure to BCC.

In the late 1970s, De la Cruz discovered that cashew nuts extracts could be used to remove warts and moles since they naturally produce heat. Surgical treatments for BCC require heat, which is used to sear the tumor before it is excised.

He said he used the cream himself to remove a wart and it proved to be effective.

Thinking that the same could have the same efficacy in treating BCC, De la Cruz conducted more research and subjected extracts to bioassay and tested it on some subjects.